Encounters of the Giggling Kind
by darkorangecat
Summary: Jason has a strange visitor in the penthouse.  Companion piece of sorts to "The Way the Cookies Crumble".  Absolutely ridiculous story.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters depicted within this work of fiction.

**A/N**: Extremely AU and quite possibly wholly, utterly, irrevocably ridiculous.

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The sound of incessant giggling reached his ears well before he descended the stairs. Brow furrowed, Jason cocked his head to the side and listened at the top of the stairs in an effort to discern from whom the infernal racket was coming. He really didn't want to walk in on Spinelli and Maxie doing who knew what in the sanctity of his living room. He shuddered and blushed just thinking about the time he'd caught them 'celebrating' the redecorating of the penthouse. Though it had been a sight to behold, it had also been nightmare inducing. Sweat beaded his brow at the mere thought of it.

Listening carefully, he inched his way down the first step, clutching the railing as though it were a lifeline to his sanity. The childlike giggling reached a crescendo and Jason's heart skipped a beat, his foot hovering in mid-air over the next step. He held his breath when the giggling tapered off slightly and strained to hear the underlying hum beneath it, trying to discern whether the low murmuring voice he could hear underneath all of the giggling belonged to his roommate.

"Spinelli?" He called down the stairs, softly, not wishing to disturb the young man if he was involved in anything 'special' with his girlfriend. He didn't want to intrude, but at the same time, he really needed to get ready for the day ahead and wouldn't mind grabbing some breakfast from the kitchen.

When he received no answer, he made his way carefully down the rest of the stairs, pausing each time the giggling rose to an almost hysterical level. His stomach growled and he gathered his resolve. This was his penthouse and he was going to get himself some breakfast. He was man of the house goldarnit.

He took the remaining steps at a cautious gallop and, averting his eyes, made to skirt around the living room when he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye that made the hairs on the back of his neck tingle. At first he wasn't sure what it was that had caused him such alarm, but as he made his way into the much too bright living room, his senses were assaulted with a myriad of sensory input that nearly sent him reeling.

The room was completely devoid of any semblance of order and Spinelli was nowhere to be found. The TV was on some kids' show and the cushions of his couch were in complete disarray. Ghostly giggles floated up to him from the midst of the rearranged cushions which seemed to have been haphazardly constructed into some dilapidated facsimile of what Jason supposed could be considered a child's fort.

His breath caught in his throat as he envisioned a miniature, unattended Spinelli left alone to ransack his home. His heart sped up and he put a hand out to steady himself as dizziness threatened to overtake him at the thought that his roommate might be the father of some illegitimate child or, worse yet, the giggling fiend beneath hiding beneath the couch cushions might be his own.

He cleared his throat and spoke tentatively toward the fort, "Hello?"

Suddenly, a flash of bright red fur blazed across his vision and before he knew what was happening, his legs were rammed into and two thin arms were wrapped about his knees in a viselike grip. Had he not already been holding onto the edge of an armchair, he would have toppled backwards onto the hard, wood floor.

Blinking rapidly in an attempt to dispel his confusion, he looked down at the creature hugging his legs. The eyes, oddly large and round looked up at him before the being shyly turned its head aside, burying its face into Jason's knees.

Not wanting to startle the suddenly timid giggler lest it attack him, he carefully reached down and attempted to pry the little monster's arms from around his legs only to have the thing cling that much harder to him. He'd seen toddlers do this to their mothers and had always wondered why they didn't just reach down and disentangle the kid. Now, he felt something akin to sympathy for those beleaguered mothers and wondered how they did manage such a feat as it would come in really handy now.

On his fifth attempt without success, he sighed and hoped that his roommate would enter the living room and save him from his predicament. Surely the creature was here on Spinelli's invite or at least he hoped that was the case and that he wasn't hallucinating.

"Excuse me," he cleared his throat hoping that the creature could actually talk, "who are you?"

The red-furred beast glanced up at him once more and grinned widely like a Cheshire cat. Much to Jason's surprise and relief, his legs, now grown numb with the fierceness with which they'd been gripped, were released.

"Oh," it giggled, "I'm Elmo."

"And," Jason swallowed, "how did you get in here?" He was really hoping that this was all just some wild dream caused by eating too much before going to bed or something equally sane.

"Spinelli," Elmo replied, and, if anything, his grin grew wider, "I was lost in the rain and he found me." Each word was punctuated by a timid giggle.

"I see," Jason groaned, "and where is Spinelli?"

"Oh," Elmo shrugged, "he went to get some cereal." Elmo inched toward Jason as though to grasp his legs again.

Nodding and slowly backing away, Jason placed the armchair between himself and a very enthusiastic Elmo lest he be trapped by the furry creature yet again.

"Why don't you go play in your…fort," Jason made an attempt to smile as he gestured toward the pile of cushions and pillows piled on his living room floor. The sooner he could extricate himself from this situation the better and when Spinelli finally got home, he was going to have a serious talk with the young man about inviting red, furry, quite possibly insane (if the unprovoked giggling was brought into the equation) vagrants into their home.


End file.
